Having just come back from injury, Giacomo Nizzolo had to succumb to the strains of the Volta a Catalunya in yesterday's stage. The Italian sprinter is out of the race on an otherwise good day for Trek that saw GC leader Robert Kisrlovski move into the top 10. 

It was a fast and furious start to the 218-kilometer stage five in Spain, and it wasn’t until the 50-kilometer point that an 8-rider breakaway finally established. They built up solid lead, but by the last climb everyone had been chased back into the fold.

This resulted in an aggressive, fast pace to the top of the final ascent (6.6kms and 4.8%) as various riders attempted to break free. The top crested with 15 kilometers remaining, but despite the attacks an intact peloton rushed into the final kilometer, where Luka Mezgec (Giant Shimano) sprinted to his third stage victory of the race. Julian Alaphilippe (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) and Samuel Dumoulin (AG2R) rounded out the top three.

“It was a difficult race today,” director Alain Gallopin explained about the long, hard stage. “The team plan was to put someone in the breakaway today, but it took more than one hour and a half before the breakaway went. Robert was strong at the end today. He followed the attack of [Alberto] Contador in the last climb, and made a counter attack, but they were caught in the downhill.”

Only 35 riders finished in the same time as the winner with a six-second time gap given to the rest of the peloton, which jumped Robert Kiserlovski from 11th to 10th place in the general classification. 

“It was great that Robert moved into the top 10 today. Now our focus is to keep him there, and it is not finished yet,” continued Gallopin. “The peloton looks tired, and although tomorrow is not overly difficult, Sunday is quite hard. We are down to four riders now, but I think we will be okay.”

Giacomo Nizzolo, still trying to find his top form back after breaking his collarbone in February, fought hard the last two days in the mountains, but the fast start to the race today was too much for him to endure, forcing him to pull out of the race.

“After the last two days he needed an easy stage today for him to have any chance, and with the crazy start today it was just too much for Giacomo,” explained Gallopin. “But he has done enough now; it was a good week for him and he will be ready to come back for the next race.”

You can read our preview of stage 6 here and follow our live coverage at 15.15 CET on CyclingQuotes.com/live